Kathryn is taken aback. Now, the Katie I know would start swinging her balls all over my apartment, putting this woman in her place once and for all. She’s a Domme. That’s what they do. Except this Katie is looking at Stephanie with the saddest eyes I’ve ever seen. No, not sad.
Scared?
“This is Kathryn Alison,” I say, knowing full well what spot I’ve put myself in.
Stephanie knows it immediately. Her eyes widen, staring down Kathryn as if she’s an interloper come to destroy half the clan. “That’s Kathryn.”
Katie sucks in her lips. “Yup,” she says. “I’m Kathryn. That Kathryn.”
Fuck. Now we all know it, and Stephanie is looking none too pleased about it.
“I think it’s best if you leave,” I tell Stephanie. Nope. She’s really not pleased about a damn thing.
“Me? I was here first.” Yet she’s off my couch, clutching her purse to her side and looking like she’s ready to take off at a moment’s notice. “Tell her to wait in line.”
“I’ll go.” Kathryn turns around too eagerly. Without thinking, I wrap my arm around her front, my fingers digging into her back as I tuck her safely into my embrace. She shudders.
This is the first time we’ve touched since we last had sex. And so much has happened since then.
“No. Stephanie was seeing herself out.”
I say it softly to Katie, but Stephanie hears a certain tone in my voice. It makes her bristle, and I know I ruined any chance of seeing her again like this.
That’s fine. Not like I knew there was another chance until she showed up tonight. Life goes on as it has before.
Except not really. Kathryn is in my arms, tiny convulses spreading into me from her wary body. I don’t know what’s going on with her, but I know this isn’t a pleasure call.
I tighten my grip on her. Both to keep her here and to reassure her that she’s safe.
“Fine.” Stephanie stops, her lips curling into a menacing smile. “See you. Farewell, Kathryn. You don’t have to worry about this guy forgetting your name.”
I don’t turn to watch the door close. I hear it, and that’s enough.
“Katie.” I loosen my grip, hands going to her shoulders. I’m already taller than her – barely – but she feels so much frailer and smaller tonight. Has something happened? Is someone hurt? “What’s going on?”
A spark erupts in her eyes. Just like that, she’s looking at me, her back straightening and her forehead reaching up toward mine. There she is. That’s the Kathryn I know.
“I’m sorry about the other night. I should have told you I couldn’t make it.”
“Don’t worry about it.” My fingers graze her chin. She does not shudder or sneer. “But I somehow doubt that’s your whole reason for coming here. You would’ve called me just for that.”
“You’re right. I came here for another reason. The real reason we have to talk.”
I gesture to my couch. Saoirse scrambles out from beneath and trots into my guest room turned library. She has a bed there she likes to curl up in around this time of night.
“I didn’t know you have a cat.”
“Even men like some feline companionship.” I gently push her toward the couch and think of offering her a drink. Probably not the best idea. “What’s on your mind?”
She shrugs me off and doesn’t continue. While she doesn’t look like a girl in trouble anymore, she does look like someone in need of a kiss and a stiff drink. I offer neither. Women like Katie aren’t reassured with those things unless it’s established to go ahead. I have no such establishment.
“Ian.” Her voice is firm, unwavering. Standing before me is Kathryn Alison, untouchable in her gray pantsuit. “We need to talk about that bet.”
“It’s fine,” I say. I haven’t really thought about it that much. Especially with everything else going on. “We were drunk.”
“No, no, we need to talk about it.”
“All right.” I once again offer the couch, but she declines.
“I didn’t show up on Wednesday because I was afraid. No, not afraid. Too nervous.”
“About what? It was a date.”
“A date with certain expectations.”
“What expectations? I didn’t anticipate anything except some dinner and maybe some, you know…”
“Exactly. That’s what I was nervous about.”
“Why? I wasn’t going to force you to do anything.”
“I know that, but you have to understand my point of view.”
“All right, what’s your point of view?”
She looks at me as if I’m an idiot. Okay, so maybe I am. If I can’t read her right now, I must be an idiot. That’s fine. I can handle being an idiot.
What I can’t handle is worrying about her.
Finally, Kathryn leans against my couch, in that exact spot Stephanie was in only a few minutes ago. “It’s not the sex, Ian. I’m a big girl and can obviously handle casual sex. It’s the… type of sex.”
“Is casual sex not a type of sex?”
“You know what I mean.”
“I’m afraid I don’t.”
I also don’t have time for this kind of bullshit. No mind games. Just tell me what’s going through your head, Katie. I don’t want to misjudge you. I don’t want to misinterpret something you’ve said. Just tell me what’s on your fucking mind.
“I wasn’t ready to submit to you.”
“What?” I’m on the verge of laughing. Holy shit, was she going to go through with the bet? “I didn’t expect you to do that at all.”
“Really?”
“Why the hell would I?”
“The bet…”
“Fuck that stupid bet. Like I said, we were drunk. What, were you going to hold me to it if I lost?”
“You weren’t?”
“No!”
“Shit…”
I put a hand on her shoulder, ready to shake with laughter. “I know that’s not who you are. So, I don’t expect you to ever do that.”
“But I…”
“Hm?”
Kathryn turns away, blushing. What have I done to her this time? “I’ve been thinking about it a lot. Submitting, that is.”
Well now.
“Not only because of the bet, but also because I’ve been thinking about you a lot in general.” She glances at me. “Don’t let it go to your head.”
“Which one?”
“Shut up.”
At least I got an eye roll out of her. I’ll take that over this indecisive Kathryn any day.
“I’m being serious, Ian. I know you’re a Dom. At some point even in a casual relationship, you’re going to want to push my boundaries. I have to be prepared for that.”
To admit that I haven’t thought of this is an understatement. I really haven’t. Why would I? As far as I was concerned, we would go along our merry way, having sex when we felt like it. Regular, non-kinky sex outside of maybe some dirty talk. Yet she’s not too far off. I probably would want to push her boundaries in the heat of the moment. Spank her ass while I take her from behind. Shove my cock down her throat and call her filthy names when she’s giving me head. Edge her. Just because I’m not tying her up doesn’t mean I’m not being a Dom in any given situation.
I never even thought about it going the other way around. What if she pushed my boundaries during sex?
“So what are you saying, exactly? That you were afraid I would put you into a compromising situation right away?”
“I don’t know, but I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. Thinking that includes what I want not only from you, but my own sex life.”
No way I’m interrupting here. I stay silent, urging her to continue.
The businesslike look on Kathryn’s face intrigues me. This isn’t a woman flirting with me. This is a woman looking to make a business proposal. This is the Kathryn who was ready to twist necks at the presentation last week. You know, the one who turned me on so much I had to have her right there and then.